Since its formation in 1970, the Business Council has sought to improve transportation conditions in southwestern Connecticut. In the early years, it worked for improved I-95 access to Stamford and strategic investments in rail facilities and service.

By 1980, it had moved its emphasis from capacity to the performance of the overall system. It formed MetroPool, the nationally-recognized ridesharing brokerage in 1980 and led the successful fight to remove tolls as a safety hazard in 1986. In the early 1990’s, The Business Council led the effort to adopt common-sense state policies implementing potentially draconian federal mandates contained in the Clean Air Act.

Since 1995, The Business Council has sought to elevate the priority assigned to transportation in statewide public policy dialogues.

Today, the organization leads or participates in a number of organizations that play important roles in transportation policy development and in providing congestion reduction services. Volunteers and staff of The Business Council also serve in a number of “economic competitiveness” advisory bodies, where they seek to assure that transportation issues are included in the broader agenda.